“Nature of the Beast”

Stardate 76478.3; June 24, 2399

EPISODE108

Edited by Peter Bossley

Written by Chris Adamek

ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS

Captain Aaitus

Lieutenant
Boedus

Angela
Christopher

Justin Reinbold

Prologue

Kendall Johnson liked to run.He ran
from epic battles and blossoming romances, from responsibility and loyalty… and
just about anything that one could possibly hope to run away from.Though he would frequently convince himself
that things in his life weren’t really as bad as they seemed, Kendall knew
that, when push came to shove, he would run again.Of course, running wasn’t always a bad thing…

As
far as Kendall was concerned, running was one of the few bright spots in his
dreadfully gloomy life—and when he spotted a new track-and-field holodeck
program sitting in the Starlight’s database, curiosity demanded he
investigate…

It
had been many, many years since Kendall’s last serious run.He had been forced to sprint through the Starlight’s
myriad corridors on countless occasions in recent years; it was certainly
exhilarating, but… none of that truly compared to zipping around a track at top
speed.Thus, Kendall was immediately
pleased when he stepped into the holodeck.

The
track was a classic setup: four hundred meters of pavement ringed a field of
verdant grass; a short deck of bleachers sat to the left of the track; a few
concession stands led to a chain-link fence, and sandy white beach on the
right.It was certainly a small venue,
nothing like the giant arenas at Starfleet Academy, but it would suffice.

Eager
to get started, Kendall hopped over the fence and started for the track.The pavement was smooth, tan in color, and
divided into six lanes.Kendall
immediately situated himself on the inside lane and started to whip around the
track—when he suddenly heard the holodeck doors clank open back by the beach.Curious, Kendall slowed to a stop and came
about to see Neelar Drayge strolling up to the fence.

“How
do you like the program?” asked the Bolian.He was dressed in a white athletic jumper, apparently ready to run a few
laps for himself.

“It…
it looks great,” said Kendall.He then
decided that the program most likely belonged to Drayge.“I… um, hope you don’t mind me using it.”

“Oh,
not at all,” replied the Bolian.He
easily hopped the fence, and wandered onto the track.“To be honest, I didn’t think anyone else would use it.I am pleased to see someone here.”

“I
was a part of the track and field team back at Starfleet Academy,” Kendall
explained.

A
smile crept across Neelar’s face.“So
was I,” he said.“It would seem we have
something in common, Lieutenant.”

Kendall
chuckled.“You learn something new
every day,” he mused—and now that Neelar was steadily approaching, Kendall
decided to resume his journey around the track.

“The
four hundred-meter dash… the eight hundred-meter relay…” He pulled in a deep
lungful of the crisp seaside air.“I
was, well… I was a long-distance runner.I think I still hold the Academy record in the sixteen hundred-meter.

“You
do,” Drayge readily confirmed.“How did
you fare on Danula II?”

Even
after ten years, the famed Starfleet Academy marathon still seemed fresh in
Kendall’s mind.In his sophomore year,
he had been favored to win the forty-kilometer run, but…“I finished third,” he grumbled.Despite his best efforts, he simply could
not catch up with the leaders.“How did
you do?”

“I
finished eighty-fourth.”Drayge
chuckled as he thought back to the event.For a moment, it seemed like Drayge might explain the disappointing
finish, but he instead pulled in a deep lungful of air and forged ahead.

And
Kendall didn’t know quite what to say.Technically speaking, eighty-fourth wasn’t that bad.There were likely hundreds of others
finishing behind Drayge—but still, eighty-fourth place was not exactly near the
front of the pack.He must have had a
leg cramp or something…

“Obviously,
I am not much of a long-distance runner,” Drayge mused as he blew the air
through his lips.

Kendall
was not about to disagree, but out of respect for Drayge, he didn’t voice his
opinion.Actually, he didn’t voice his
opinion because after five years, he barely knew the Bolian and wasn’t exactly
comfortable around him… but it was much easier to justify his silence with respect.Unfortunately, that did little to advance
the conversation, and silence slowly began to grip to arena.

The
Bolian slowed to a halt very near the start/finish line, took only a moment to
catch his breath, and then slapped his communicator.“Drayge here.”

“Neelar,”
said the Captain, “I need to see you in my ready room when you’ve got a
minute.It’s about your… little
inquiry.”

A
devilish smile suddenly crept across Drayge’s face.“I’ll be right there,” he said.He must have been up to something, but Kendall couldn’t even
begin to imagine what.He simply
did not know the Bolian well enough to even speculate.

Whatever
the case, their little jog was certainly over.Though he could have done a few more laps, Kendall didn’t want to wear
himself out—besides, his fifteen-minute break ended a good ten minutes
ago.Thus, he headed toward the exit
alongside Drayge.

“We
should do this again sometime,” said the Bolian.

Kendall
couldn’t tell if the offer was genuine, or if Drayge was simply being polite…
but Kendall didn’t have any objections.As far as he was concerned, he still had plenty of impetus to go
running.So he forced an awkward smile
upon his face.“That… that sounds
good.”

• • •

Alan
Christopher couldn’t wipe the smile from his face.He had certainly been surprised to find an inquiry from Neelar
Drayge on his desk; it wasn’t often the young Bolian submitted such formal
paperwork to Christopher…In fact, he
couldn’t even recall the last time he saw Drayge’s name on such an inquiry (if
it ever happened).Thus, he had
been more than a little curious.

And
now that he had perused Drayge’s submission in its entirety, Alan Christopher
was thoroughly pleased with the Bolian.He had come a long way from his days as a lowly ensign.

“A
promotion,” mused Christopher as he glanced up from the padd.Neelar stood about a meter away, smiling
faintly as Christopher continued to wrap his mind around the situation.“Neelar, it seems like just last week we
were changing your diapers!”

Drayge
had never been the biggest fan of Christopher’s quirky humor, but to his
credit, he always forced a smile to his face.This time was no different.“My
parents always said that I was a child prodigy,” he mused, gently clasping his
hands behind his back.

“Mine
said the same thing,” Christopher happily recalled.It seemed that, at one time or another, all parents liked to
profess the genius of their children.“They were wrong, of course.I was no genius back then…”

“But
you are now,” Drayge succinctly continued, practically taking the words
right out of Christopher’s mouth.Of
course, had Christopher spoken, he suspected the sarcasm in his voice would not
have been so evident.

Not
wanting to dwell upon minor details of this conversation, Christopher instead
focused on the more pressing matter at hand.Neelar’s promotion to Lieutenant Commander wasn’t written in stone; at
the moment, it was little more than a suggestion, written on a padd—and because
Neelar himself initiated the process, he would first have to prove himself
worthy of the higher rank.

“It’s
not going to be easy,” Christopher warned.The sentiment wasn’t meant as a deterrent—Christopher had total faith in
Drayge’s ability to succeed—he was just stating a simple fact.“You’re going to have to endure countless
cheesy simulations on the holodeck, a few written exams, and you need to
gain a little more first-hand command experience.”

Drayge
didn’t hesitate for a moment.“I am up
to the challenge,” he crisply replied.

“Then
report to holodeck tomorrow morning,” said Christopher.“I’ll have Ensign Jayesh take your shift on
the bridge.”

This
time, the grin on Neelar’s face was truly genuine.“Thank you,” he said, already headed for the exit.He was certainly eager to get started, and
somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Alan Christopher wanted to know why…